Tender
by thewetbandit
Summary: Okay, please don't give me a hard time because this is Blur and not The Beatles. Laura has always been shunned by men, until one night she catches the eye of Damon Albarn of Blur. Things soon turn sour for the couple, though...


Damon smirked at me and pulled the cubicle door closed. He pushed up my skirt so that it was bunched around my waist.

'You look sexy,' he breathed. I could feel my cheeks burning. My head was spinning from the numerous pints of cider I'd necked. He leaned towards me and started kissing me. His hands roved over my body, undoing my blouse and pulling it over my head. He unhooked my bra and it fell to the floor. He unzipped his own trousers and manoeuvred us so that I was straddling him. I felt a sharp burst of pain and cried out. He frowned.

'Is it your first time?'

'Yes,' I said, embarrassed. He hugged me.

'Don't be scared, I won't hurt you.'

After a while, warm rivulets of pleasure bolted through my stomach. I moaned, laying my head on Damon's chest. When we were finished, he kissed my neck. We dressed quickly and left the cubicle. A horrified woman glared at us from the sink.

'You should be ashamed of yourselves,' she said. Damon took my hand.

'We are,' he said, leading me from the bathroom in fits of laughter. The evening had started off quite uneventfully, with no indication that I'd end up shagging the lead singer of Blur in the toilets. My friend Jessie and I were excited for our first college night out in London. We'd managed to blag our way into a fancy club. That's when Jessie started squealing.

'Oh my God, Laura, it's Blur!'

'Where?'

She pointed to the bar. Damon was drinking a pint. Next to him, Alex James ate crisps. We were both huge Blur fans and couldn't believe our look. Jessie, being braver than me, grabbed my hand and led me over to them.

'Hi,' she said. Damon grinned at her.

'Well hello there, madam,' he said, winking. Jessie's gorgeous and tends to be flocked by men in most places. She has long blonde hair, a slim figure, and light blue eyes. Me, on the other hand, I'm a bit plainer. I'm short and a bit on the heavy side, with curly red hair. Men don't tend to notice me. Now, though, Alex James was smiling at me. I couldn't believe it. He looked so good, with floppy hair and long limbs.

'Can I get you a drink?,' he asked. Meanwhile, Damon flirted shamelessly with Jessie. I was sure they were going to slink away into a dark corner together to snog. Not so. Alex handed me a drink and then draped an arm around Jessie.

'Care to accompany me outside for a cigarette?,' he asked her. She nodded, only too eager. That left me alone with Damon. I was suddenly tongue-tied. Damon did not look to be impressed about this turn of events. He glowered at Alex's retreating figure.

'Can you believe him? Unbelievable,' he said, downing his pint. I shrugged.

'Jessie's very popular with men,' I said.

He gave a half-smile.

'You're not, then?,' he asked. I blushed.

'Er, not usually,' I said. He looked me up and down.

'Can't see why not,' he said. I was stunned. Was he flirting with me? A cheesy Europop song came on and he hauled me onto the dancefloor. We danced for hours, laughing. At one point, he kissed me and then ran to the bar to get us drinks. I touched my lips in a state of numb disbelief. Damon handed me a white wine just as Jessie and Alex returned, arms entwined. Damon looked furious again and my heart sank. I clearly wasn't his primary area of interest.

'Where have you been?,' he asked Alex, not bothering to conceal the hostility in his voice. Alex wrapped an arm around Jessie's waist.

'None of your business,' he said. With that, they were gone again. Damon ranted about Alex until I couldn't bear it any more.

'Look, if you like her so much, why don't you go get her?,' I demanded, pushing my way through the crowds. Outside, tears stung my eyes. It'd be nice if, just once, someone was interested in me instead of Jessie. I'd never had sex. Jessie, on the other hand, bedded a different man most nights of the week. I cried openly now, feeling dejected. A voice beside me startled me out of my melancholy.

'You alright, Laura?'

It was Damon. The look of concern in his eyes was genuine.

'Not really,' I confessed.

'What's wrong?'

'Everyone loves Jessie whenever we go out. You're clearly smitten with her too. I'd just like to have that kind of attention once, you know?'

He put his arm around me.

'I like you, Laura. Don't cry. I was just angry at Alex because he treats women terribly, not because I like Jessie.'

Relief flooded my body.

'Really? What does he do?'

Damon rolled his eyes and lit a cigarette.

'He never calls them. He cheats on them. He's a bastard, but he's good-looking, so he gets away with it.'

I nodded, feeling a twinge of guilt that I'd hadn't kept a better eye on Jessie. Damon seemed to note my unease.

'Don't worry, I'm sure your friend won't let him mess her about, or he'll have me to deal with,' he said. I felt relieved. Damon hadn't taken his arm away and I was glad. He finished his cigarette.

'D'you wanna go back inside?'

'Yes,' I said, shivering in the November air. We had more drinks and danced for a while. Then, wordlessly, Damon led me to the bathrooms. I was confused but excited, too. Thankfully, there was no one in there. We went into the cubicle and had sex. It was amazing. I couldn't believe a man actually wanted to see me naked. Afterwards, we left and went to the bar. Jessie dragged me away to interrogate me.

'Where have you been?'

I giggled and told her. She looked at me, agog.

'You little slut! In the bathrooms, no less.'

Damon gestured to me to come over. Jessie nudged me.

'Lover boy calls,' she cooed. I punched her playfully and joined Damon. He wrapped an arm around me and kissed my cheek. I was still in shock. The singer of my favourite band fancied me and wanted to be with me. It was surreal. Alex and Jessie left shortly afterwards. Damon finished his pint.

'Do you want to come back with me?,' he asked. I nodded and we got a taxi to his apartment. We had sex again and when I woke the next morning, his arms were wrapped around me. I sat up, beaming. He even looked gorgeous sleeping. I made tea and was finishing it when he came into the kitchen in his boxers. He looked delicious.

'Morning,' he said, his voice hoarse. I chuckled.

'Morning,' I said, draining the tea. He kissed me and put some bread into the toaster. After breakfast, he had to go. They were playing a gig in Brighton that night. He gave me his number. I went to Jessie's place after getting dressed.

'Tell me all the juicy details,' she begged.

'Well, he's so sexy. It felt wonderful. He's beautiful and amazing,' I gushed. Jessie smirked, lighting a cigarette.

'Someone's been bitten by the love bug,' she teased. Just then, Alex called out from the bedroom.

'Fancy a shag, love?'

I giggled. Jessie sighed.

'We have company, babe,' she called.

Alex joined us, rolling a joint. We passed it around, before Alex left for the gig. I flopped on the couch, twisting a lock of hair around my finger. Suddenly, I was crippled with self-doubt.

'Do you think he likes me, Jess?'

'Of course he does, you daft cow,' she said, hitting me with a pillow.

'What if I'm just the next girl on a conveyor belt?'

'You know you're not,' she said. Sadly, she was wrong. The next week, I knocked at Damon's door. He opened it, still in his underwear and with his hair ruffled. He looked decidedly shifty.

'Can I come in?'

'Er, I'm a bit busy right now, Laura,' he said.

'Damon, come back to bed,' urged a female voice. I felt a rush of nausea. Damon's mouth fell open.

'It's not what you think,' he said, grabbing my arm. I shook him away and fled, crying. Back at my apartment, I felt like someone had stamped on my heart. I went through my music magazines and cut out pictures of Damon, sobbing. I was startled when someone knocked at the door.

'Go away,' I said when I opened it and saw that it was him. He stood with a bouquet of flowers, looking sheepish.

'Please, I can explain.'

'There's no explaining necessary, Damon. You shagged another girl, end of story.'

He winced at my blunt words.

'It's not like that. I love you,' he whispered. I slammed the door. I never wanted to see him again, and yet I missed him terribly. Alex and Jessie were furious when they found out.

'I'll fucking kill him,' fumed Alex. Contrary to Damon's damning words, Alex was loyal and loving, and I'd never seen Jessie so happy. Right now, though, she was purple with rage.

'The fucking scumbag!'

We marched to Damon's flat. I was deeply grateful for their support. Alex hammered at the door.

'Come out right now, Albarn, you piece of shit!'

There was no answer. Alex braced himself and bashed the door down. Damon was kissing a blonde girl on the sofa. They sprang apart. She had big boobs and too much lipstick. I curled my lip in disgust. So that's who had replaced me.

Alex grabbed Damon by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.

'You fucking bastard, how could you treat Laura like this?,' he roared, punching Damon in the stomach. Jessie and I tried to pull him off, but he was in a white rage. He beat Damon into bloodied unconsciousness. The blonde girl wept and ran screaming. Alex panted, slumping onto the couch. Just then, Graham arrived. When he saw Damon, he fell to his knees.

'Damon, wake up! What the fuck happened?'

'Alex hit him,' I said. I felt sick as I watched Damon's motionless body. His face was a bloody mess and his arms and legs seemed to stick out at unnatural angles. Graham rounded on Alex.

'How could you do this, Alex?,' he wept. He rang an ambulance and sat cradling Damon. Even Alex seemed appalled. When the ambulance came, Graham went with them. We all sat in silence after they'd left.

'I'm sorry,' Alex said. Jessie hugged him.

'It wasn't your fault,' she said. He started to cry. I didn't know what to do. I went into Damon's room and lay on his bed, staring at the wall. We got a call from Graham later on. I could barely hear him, he was crying so hard.

'They think his brain's been damaged,' he said.

Damon was comatose for a month. When he came round, he called to my apartment.

'Laura, believe me, I'm so sorry about the way I treated you.'

His whole face was swollen and bruised. I felt a surge of pity for him and hugged him. It was a painful process, but we worked things out.

_Tender is my heart, for screwing up my life_

_Lord I need to find someone who can heal my mind._


End file.
